Peace of mind was not to be found inside a smartphone

Lately, every time I hear the phrase "peace of mind,"
I find myself pausing for a moment.

Is it about having time to spare?
Is it about having money to spare?
Or is it about the strength not to be swayed by others?

The answer is likely different for everyone.
But looking at the world today,
I cannot help but feel that this "peace of mind"
has been placed somewhere far away.

The new NISA has started, and it is already in its third year.
One might even call it an unprecedented investment boom.
Whether this will take root as a culture,
or end as a passing craze,
honestly, it seems to depend on government policy.

Naturally, that trend is present in my own life as well.
Although, as for me personally,
I am struggling to pay for my second daughter's vocational school tuition,
so I can hardly say I have "money to spare."
Still, I do think that someday, even if it is just a small amount,
I would like to try investing for the sake of learning.

The other day, it was during a break at work.
As I was moving my body outside to make up for a lack of exercise,
a young colleague, A-kun, who was sitting on a bench,
was staring at his smartphone with a troubled look on his face.

"Is something wrong?
You look so serious. Did you have a fight with your girlfriend?"

When I asked him that, half-jokingly,
he smiled a bit awkwardly and said,

"It's not that. I'm doing investment trusts, but
I'm worried about whether I should increase my monthly contribution,
or keep it as it is.
The economy is stable both in Japan and overseas right now, isn't it?"

I was impressed that he was thinking about it properly, despite being young.
Perhaps he has a clear goal for the future.
Thinking that, I asked him.

Then, the words that came back
were a little different from what I had imagined.

"When I turn 40,
I don't want to work anymore.
I hate wearing myself out over human relationships.
I want to FIRE through investing and live freely."

The idea of "becoming free through investing"
that I hear on TV,
I was a little surprised that it was so close to home.
At the same time, deep in my chest,

something like a small anxiety was born.
If you take his words at face value,

as long as you can achieve a certain level of results,
after that, you don't have to work,
and you only want to live for yourself.
I look back on myself.

Until now,
I have worked with the single-minded determination
not to let my family end up on the streets.
Now, I have had health issues,
and I am in the middle of rethinking how I work, but
I like to think, perhaps selfishly,
that through those difficult times,
I have been able to build some depth as a person.
Looking across Japan today,

nursing care, service industries, construction, manufacturing.
In many workplaces that support society,
the young people carrying the load are not just Japanese.
Indonesia, the Philippines, Nepal, etc.
Trainees who learn skills while working
are becoming the driving force of the workplace.
The newspapers report that the population of foreign residents in Japan

is increasing.
That is not happening because someone is bad.
Japanese people avoid jobs that have low wages
and tend to be physically demanding.
It is because they feel it is not worth it.
People from overseas are filling that gap.

I think that is something to be grateful for.
However, when I imagine 10 years from now,

a future where there are almost no Japanese people
in the industries that form the backbone of Japan,
sometimes crosses my mind.
Investing is not a bad thing.

It is also a preparation for the future.
But politics,
rather than just saying "work because we will raise wages,"
shouldn't it show young people more
about the dignity of working
and the pride of supporting someone else's life?
I think we need to seriously envision a future

where we work together with people from overseas
and support society together.
In the eyes of A-kun, who was operating his smartphone on the bench,

I could not feel the ease of enjoying the present.
For the sake of freedom,
he was continuing to endure the present,
with a somewhat painful expression.
I feel that peace of mind

is not something that is neatly prepared
inside a smartphone
or at the end of some numbers years from now.
Peace of mind is not something found after finishing something quickly, but

perhaps it is something that is born suddenly
in the midst of continuing to engage with someone.